So my bestie Lisa and I went to Manhattan on Saturday, and had a day that can only be described as perfect.

We rode the train up early in the morning, and made a pit stop at all nine stories of the Herald Square Macy's -- where we were entranced by the wooden escalators.

Then -- dig us! -- we strolled along Fifth Avenue in the sunshine on our way to brunch; I refrained from breaking into song, only because I couldn't decide between "We're a Couple of Swells" and "Easter Parade." The beauty part is that Lisa would have totally joined in. That's just one reason she's been my bestie since we were thirteen.

This pretty little park took us by surprise: a quiet little island in the middle of the busy city. Inside the park I saw my first real dog run -- unimaginable in the Virginia suburbs!

Then -- dig us again! -- we went to brunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill.

I had the most glamorous eggs ever: "Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potato Hash with Poached Eggs and Green Chile Hollandaise." People . . . there's a reason the man is an "Iron Chef."

After brunch we headed to the theater district. Check out this quinceanera party we happened upon -- in the middle of Times Square. Fabulous!

Our destination for the afternoon was the Music Box Theater, where we saw the fantastic Lend Me a Tenor.

It was perfect. In fact, it led to the only casualty of our day, when Lisa sprained her face from smiling too much. That's gotta hurt!

After the play we took another stroll, wandering from Broadway to Seventh Avenue and back to Fifth Avenue (Tiffany's, people! -- and even better, Anthropologie!). We ended up at the Plaza and the entrance to Central Park.

tangent: You know, of course, that the Plaza is the home of Eloise -- one of my literary heroes. Here are some of her words of wisdom:

"You have to eat oatmeal or you'll dry up.Anybody knows that."

"Here's where he's been: Paris.Here's where I've been: boiler room."

"Getting bored is not allowed."

Our perfect day was completed to perfection when we ate dinner at Pastis -- my new favorite restaurant in the world.

Lisa and I ate perfect food, and drank perfect wine, and were taken care of by Zach -- our perfectly charming and cute young waiter. I love those!